Show me your bikepacking bikes! And rigid or sussed?

I’m feeling inspired to do some long rides, including overnighter this year. I still want to ride technical trails though and was originally planning to build the bike as a rigid . I’m having doubts now though about the rigid side of things.

I’d like to see what other people ride especially if you run a sus fork.

Depends on what you’re riding, but you probably knew that. I’ve just done a 7 day trip on my rigid bike, mostly riding XC trails with occasional mildly technical bits.

It’s a steel frame with a carbon fork, and I find that adding weight to the front (20l bar bag + fork cages + stem and top tube bags) balances it out nicely, though I also use a seat pack and frame bag.

For the trails I was on, this worked perfectly. Sticking a fully loaded bike into berms is surprisingly fun! And I did some road/gravel miles too so it was useful there where a sus fork would just have been excess weight. On more technical stuff it may have been limiting.

I have a Cotic Solaris with carbon fork. It originally had a suspension fork so it took a while to get used to it being fully rigid. Did the YD300, Peak200, YD200 and BB200 ITTs on it last year, have ridden it round Gisburn red route. Will be using it for the JennRide and the HT550 this year.

Advantages: lighter than a suspension fork by at least 1Kg; less to go wrong.
Disadvantages: takes a bit of getting used to; you need your bike fit to be spot on otherwise IMO you’ll never get used to it; not ideal on very technical ground – for me Gisburn red is about the limit, whilst rideable it’s not as pleasant as on a HT.

Plenty of folk go bike packing on their full-suss. Video from a Tour Du Mont Blanc trip from another STwer, you couldn’t really ride that on a rigid. Also there is the huge backpacking thread. Ride what you’ve got (or build a hardtailwith a front fork) its only a 1 nighter.

I’m hoping to use the bike for a bit of commuting and pubbing as well hence not using my fs bike.

Part of me is thinking try the rigid and then if I want to do something harder I could put the pike from my fs on the front temporarily. Alot of my riding will be with my gf on nothing too technical anyway so the lightness could be an advantage there.

A rigid bike is a good versatile all rounder, but a HT isn’t far off either. If you do need more technical capability then just stick the bags on your FS. More technical terrain will likely mean the distances won’t be as long and you can’t load yourself up too much.

Ive posted this before. The 2015 Colorado Trail Race wining bike, 550 miles in 4 days. That’s a 160mm pike on the front and a Reverb. There is no right bike for bikepacking.

Article[/url]

HT:

and a better picture of the same kit on the cx type thing:

Both would have been fine on either ride, just fun in different places!

My personal feeling is if you still want to ride technical trails, i’d ride whatever you have as a mountain bike now, more air in forks to compensate for extra weight, maybe slight bigger volume tyres to help soak up trail with weight on board.

But, I tend to either ride fat bike or Fargo for bikepacking, as i don’t tend to ride technical trails living in East Anglia!

[/url]a by Scud75[/url], on Flickr[/img]

[/url]b by Scud75[/url], on Flickr[/img]

Running suspension can cause problems depending on rider height, suspension travel and luggage capacity. If you’re 5’2″ and want a seatpack then you’re obviously going to run into trouble with large wheels and suspension travel.

I have two sets of forks for my Pact; Rebas and some rigid carbon. I’ll fit whichever most suits the route I’m planning, accepting that each has its advantages and disadvantages. Plus tyres can offer some comfort on longer days too.

My Krampus if its offroad..

Vaya if its onroad..

Rigid or sussed – depends on how you ride, for me I really don’t care and have done similar trips on both, each having their own merits and downfalls…

My Bike for doing the GR5 last September


And June 2015 Geneva to Chamonix bike of choice…

Don’t have rigid (or full sus….)

Packed up again, ready to go at 9.00 am sharp… by Metalheart-UK[/url], on Flickr

Thanks. Reading that article, I’m going to initially build it as a rigid bike, with the option of putting my pikes on or buying another fork later on. I like the idea of a rigid for playing around d on local stuff and rides with the gf anyway.

I can allways use my t129 as well. I think I had been fooled into thinking no one used full sus bikes as all the sites I’ve looked on seem to be mainly fat bikes and rigid!

Learning: The stuff at the back on that rack rattles a lot.
Reverb not needed. Better having a rigid post and a tailpack.

Once the bike is that loaded up, you can make it over technical stuff but it’s a bit of a pig so no fun.

Reverb not needed. Better having a rigid post and a tailpack.

Ive fitted a reverb to my bikepacking fatbike (it has a Bluto too!) and its appreciated. You cant get right off the back as the seatpack is obviously in the way but you can shift weight about easier and get lower on the bike which helps on steep stuff.

As noted there’s no “one right bike”. In my case the Solaris started off with a suspension fork but when that died I put the carbon fork on. The Solaris is my only MTB so it’s not as if I’m choosing it over anything else. (Actually that’s a lie now as I also have a fat bike and that was used for my last bikepacking trip and will be used for the next couple)

Use what you are happy with. Unless you have a custom frame bag made, bikepacking bags are easily transferrable from one bike to another.

Video from a Tour Du Mont Blanc trip from another STwer, you couldn’t really ride that on a rigid.

You could. Better in places, worse in others, usual pros/cons. I like rigid bikes for this sort of thing, they’re stable under braking or down steep stuff, feel like they manage the load more predictably. You don’t ride flat-out in the same way when loaded up anyway.

Bikepacked on my rigid bike and HT. Don’t have a susser

Depends on the conditions as to which is the right bike. HT often has a dropper on it too

One thing to note is a rigid bike has more front bar bag capacity, as the wheel doesn’t move so there’s no chance of any rubbing. You need a bike more care on the HT

I’ve sometimes been glad on the HT, other times thought the rigid was better

There’s no right or wrong answer. That’s the beauty of bikepacking. Pick the right bike for the ride, then lob your bags on

You don’t ride flat-out in the same way when loaded up anyway.

On a rigid you might not, that’s why some of us use suspension on occasion 😉

You could. Better in places, worse in others, usual pros/cons. I like rigid bikes for this sort of thing, they’re stable under braking or down steep stuff, feel like they manage the load more predictably. You don’t ride flat-out in the same way when loaded up anyway.

I think this pretty much nails it, I had 100mm of travel on my bike last year and yes it was more comfortable but often found that the bike got overwhelmed. On the other hand my mate had 150mm+ travel and a little less weight on the bike (more on his back) and was able to ride a hell of a lot faster, yes he is faster than me normally when both on unloaded bikes but this was a good 2x the speed at points. I reckon I wouldn’t have been any slower on a rigid bike just a little less uncomfortable.

So what I think I’m trying to say is that sub ~120mm it doesn’t really make a huge difference but more allows you to just hit stuff and the bike will cope with it.

Rigid is really nice when picking your way up and along things. I’d forgotten how great it feels to have a solid platform to work with. Standing up and properly mashing the pedals and bars is great fun. And the handling is brillant too since the geom never changes, no dive or anything.

However as soon as it gets rocky it can be pretty grim. Trail centres are rubbish, for example as they have long swoopy descents that are meant to be pinned, and you can’t (at least I can’t) because it’s just too damn rough. So you end up clinging on for dear life with aching hands. Natural stuff can be more fun because it’s not usually as fast, which means bumps aren’t as much of an issue.

I’d imagine on one of those long ITTs suspension might be of use if it’s rough enough terrain, because I do have to go pretty slowly at times on rigid.

@molgrips – pretty much spot on regarding trail centres – they’ve developed in line with developments in suspension, “black” runs from the 1980s are pretty mild compared to those of today. Expecting a rigid bike to cope is asking a bit much, well for me anyway.

ITTs, in this country at least, tend not to have long sections of very rough terrain. They are quite hard to find for one thing. Where you do have them, such as Glen Canisp on the HT550 (between Lochinver and Ledmore Junction) then they are rough enough that they are unrideable even on a FS so become hike-a-bike. Unrideable might be too strong a word – riding would be energy inefficient and possibly not as quick as walking.

I think the ideal fork for long ITTs would be the Lauf, little or no geometry changes yet the constant chatter from things like fire/dirt roads will get soaked up. Josh Kato replaced the suspension fork on his FS bike[/url] with one for last year’s Tour Divide race, unfortunately an incident with a truck forcing him off the road meant that he didn’t finish. A pity they are so damn expensive!

@ metalheart
That pic is great. Even though I’ve seen it before I just won’t bore of that. This coming from someone who is selling his solaris now though.

Kato wasn’t on a FS he was riding a hard tail cutthroat with Laufs 😀

@Andy – My mistake, I’d assumed it was a FS for some reason.

In the spirit of ‘there is no perfect bike for bikepacking’ and ‘use whatever you feel like’, here is my setup from 2016 Tour Divide.
I will be using it again for this years 5100 miler American Trail Race from North Carolina to Oregon. The only change will be that I will carry a telephone, so am modding the power system to let me charge an extra device.

Full Suss
Untitled by Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr
Rigid Phat
Untitled by Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr

There was someone riding a spearfish with laufs on the divide last year.

Indeed, Molgrips you’ve hit the nail on the head regarding trail centres on rigid bikes, as you say it’s the natural stuff where they’re really in their element. Right tool for the job and all that.

I use a rigid 29er or a Spearfish for bikepacking. Choice will depend on the length of the route and terrain.

Most of my riding year round is on the rigid.

as you say it’s the natural stuff where they’re really in their element

Well I’ll qualify that slightly. I love mine for longer less technical rides with big climbs. I have “local woods” which are still full of rough techie bits and on those it’s a toss-up.

You don’t ride flat-out in the same way when loaded up anyway.
On a rigid you might not, that’s why some of us use suspension on occasion

I know what you mean : ) but on either bike type you need good skills and strength to get a loaded bike floating over stuff like you can do an unloaded bike, particularly during a multi-day trip, so with sus it’s usually more plow-through using the sus to soak it up, still braking differently, taking a few less risks of rim impacts etc.

Well I’ll qualify that slightly. I love mine for longer less technical rides with big climbs. I have “local woods” which are still full of rough techie bits and on those it’s a toss-up.

I’ll agree with that, my locals trails have a few sections in that vein which can be fun on a rigid due to having to be very particular with your line choice and the speed at which you tackle obstacles, whereas on a full sus you can just go flat out for the fastest time. Depends on whether you’re in the mood for a “can’t believe I’m still alive” grin or a “I’m sure I broke the sound barrier” one 😀

Pics, just because

HT

Rigid

Here’s mine, I’m off out in a minute….

Customary truck photo at Sparwood by Jim Barrow[/url], on Flickr

Tobermory Cabin by Jim Barrow[/url], on Flickr

Day 2 on the trail by Jim Barrow[/url], on Flickr

All depends on how quickly you want to get wherever you intend to go, my CXer in “off-road touring mode”

Im happy to ride a rigid but bikepacking is tiring and the last thing I want at the end of a tiring day(s) is having to finesse with line choice or having to stand constantly to deal with what should be minor trail bumps. That’s why my favourite bikepacking bike was my old Spearfish, it would do warp speed descending as if it were unloaded but mostly its benefit was 80mm of rear travel to let you rest when you wanted to. I have a fatbike now and while a 29+ does wonders for a rough surface its not quite as good over a whole day(s).

Looking down on Gladhouse Reservoir by Richard Elsdon[/url], on Flickr

My second favourite bikepacking bike is my Crosscheck, yes its a crossbike but damn its such as nice bike to be on. Did my biggest ride on it in September bank holiday, Berwick to Glasgow via C2C and Forth and Clyde canal, so not the smoothest route. 140mile day as part of a ~400mile (fixed gear) long weekend, with handlebar and saddle bags with bivy gear in. That’s still bikepacking right? 😉

Untitled by Richard Elsdon[/url], on Flickr

This,
This is a great thread.

Stories, packing finesse, bikes, smiles.

Ah. I’m so confused! I keep changing my mind whether to go rigid or a sus fork. It will mainly be getting used in the Welsh mountains so mixed terrain really!

I just really want to get out and camp. Since I stopped climbing g a couple of years ago I’ve nor really slept out under the stars and I miss it.